


Tea & Meditation

by LokianAuthor



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt Zuko (Avatar), Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Iroh (Avatar) is a Good Uncle, Ozai (Avatar) Being a Terrible Parent, Uncle-Nephew Relationship, Zuko's Scar (Avatar)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-18
Updated: 2020-08-18
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:34:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25981408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LokianAuthor/pseuds/LokianAuthor
Summary: After being scarred by his father, Zuko never wants to fire bend again.
Relationships: Iroh & Zuko (Avatar), Ozai & Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 93





	Tea & Meditation

An old man and a young boy with bandages over his eye sat on the floor of their new home in Ba Sing Se. The young prince Zuko had just been cast out from his home in the Fire Nation, betrayed and scarred, with no hope to return or regain his honor.

"Zuko," the elder pressed a cold cloth to his nephew's cheek, cooling his face and dampening the lower edge of his bandages, "your father's fire-bending is fueled by anger. This makes his flame bite and sting with more intensity, and it burns away and chars his character. You are so much stronger than he is, or will ever be."

Iroh carefully observed his nephew, who had his gaze set firmly on the ground before him and his arms wrapped securely around his chest. "When you truly fire-bend, your flame is nourished by the sun and the warmth of the soul. It is controlled by your breath."

The older man lifted the tea set that had been to his left, placing it instead on the floor between himself and Zuko. He recognized that it would be difficult to get through to the boy. Zuko had been through a lot of trauma, mostly within the last few days. He took the pot and poured water into two short, clay teacups, and then set one aside for his nephew.

He held his own cup in two hands, close to his chest, "If I warmed my tea with fire-bending, in the way that your father practices, the tea would become bitter with the flame's resentment." A small flame appeared in his palm, surrounding and crawling up the edges of the cup, as if it were a pot on a stove, "however, if I warm my tea with a gentle and deliberate fire, the taste will be luscious and distinct."

His nephew's expression did not change, so he tried again, "you told me that you no longer want to fire-bend. I think that you may mean that you no longer want to be hurt by fire-bending," Zuko looked up from the ground in perplexity, "I will not make you use offensive bending, and I promise that I will not allow anyone to use it towards you. But, Zuko, I want you to try to continue passive bending. It's a part of you, a special ability that you were born with. You don't have to let your father take that away from you."

Iroh paused to allow his nephew to consider his proposition. The silence was slow and calm, he did not want Zuko to feel pressed to answer immediately.

"I suppose," the boy spoke after a moment, for the first time since they had sat down, "I could do that." The elder smiled and put his hand to his nephew's forehead, brushing against the edge of the bandaging.

"We will start practicing whenever you are ready. For now, you need to rest and heal." He stood up and took Zuko by the hands to lead him to the freshly-made bed. He did not fight, only absently following his uncle's lead. Once Iroh had the boy comfortably in bed, he sat down on the floor nearest to Zuko's side, "I'll be right here."

~

Nearly three weeks later, Zuko's bandage was removed permanently. The burn scar was a considerable size, fully surrounding his eye and stretching up to his ear and down to his cheek. His father had permanently branded him with this mark of dishonor and banishment. All for the crime of speaking out of turn.

His uncle had told him to see it as a symbol of a new beginning, for his life in Ba Sing Se, but it was difficult for him to identify with that idea. Iroh was a much stronger optimist than he was.

"Now, Zuko, I want you to meditate with me. I am going to light this candle, and I want you to bend it along with your breathing." The elder lit a candle between himself and his nephew, in a similar position as they had been on their first night in their new home. He took a few deep breaths as an example, making the flame wax and wane with his lungs. After a moment, he spoke again, "will you do that for me?"

The boy nodded, promptly beginning the exercise.

He was only able to keep the flame lit for a few deep breaths, and his eyes widened in fear when the flame went out. For just a second, he expected punishment, as his father would have done. He was with Iroh, though, and his uncle was patient.

He lit the candle and tried again.

**Author's Note:**

> hey :) i've finally written another fic for this website! this one is actually heavily inspired by dbt skills from therapy haha


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